Inking arrangement for printing presses

Abstract: An inking arrangement for printing presses comprises an ink fountain member (5) having at least one fountain-forming face (7a-7d) for forming an ink fountain, an ink fountain roller (1) defining an ink channel (9) together with the fountain member and having an outer peripheral surface to be inked through the channel, a plurality of rollers (2,3) for supplying the ink applied to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller (1) to a printing portion, and a cleaning tank (11) disposed below the fountain member (5). The cleaning tank (1) is provided with a cleaning blade (12) at least alternatively shiftable to a cleaning position in which the blade is pressed against the peripheral surface of the fountain roller (1), or to a stand-by position in which the blade (12) is away from the fountain roller. The ink applied to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller through the channel (9) is scraped off by the blade (12) in the cleaning position and collected in the tank (11).

Description: The present invention relates to inking arrangements for printing presses according to the preamble of claim 1. A printing press of this kind comprising a fountain member, an ink fountain roller defining an ink channel together with the fountain member and a cleaning blade in connection with a cleaning tank which blade is alternatively shiftable to a cleaning position and a stand-by position as the main elements is disclosed by the GB-A 2 262 716. The US-A 5 184 556 discloses a printing apparatus and method having a turret forming a plurality of fountain and doctor blade assemblies which are indexably mounted adjacent to an ink transfer roll. The changeover of doctor blade and fountain assemblies is proposed for saving time when a new printing job is started. Cleaning of the doctor blade holder and the doctor blades may be postponed until all the doctor blade and fountain assemblies have been used. Usual printing presses have an ink fountain roller disposed close to an ink fountain member forming an ink fountain, from which ink is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the fountain roller, then transferred by a vibrating roller to an ink distributing roller and further supplied to the printing surface via a plurality of other ink distributing rollers. The ink fountain member, which is usually in the form of a plate, and the fountain roller define an ink channel, through which the ink in the fountain is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the fountain roller. With the printing press described, the kind of ink to be used is changed depending on the print to be made. In such a case, completion of the preceding printing operation is followed by a procedure for replacing the ink within the fountain by the one to be used for the subsequent printing operation. This replacement procedure includes collection of the old ink from inside the fountain and cleaning of the fountain member and the rollers. With the conventional printing press, the vibrating roller and the ink distributing rollers are automatically cleaned by so-called inker cleaning, whereas the fountain roller and the fountain member are difficult to clean automatically and are therefore cleaned manually in the following manner. After the preceding printing operation has been completed, the old ink remaining in the fountain is removed by manual work with the fountain roller at rest, and the portions of the fountain roller and the fountain member in contact with the ink are manually cleaned. Accordingly, the old ink is cumbersome to collect, and the fountain member and the fountain roller need to be cleaned by hand, necessitating similarly cumbersome work. Since it is only after these components have been cleaned that new ink can be placed into the fountain, the replacement is a time-consuming procedure and requires a long period of time before starting the next printing operation. There are also cases wherein the size (width) of the ink channel is altered depending on the print to be produced by the printing machine. In such a case, the size of the ink channel is adjusted conventionally by varying the position or angle of the fountain member, but the adjustment is also cumbersome. Furthermore it is desired with the printing press to adjust the width of the ink fountain in accordance with the width of the printing surface, whereas this is generally difficult. An object of the present invention is to provide an inking arrangement for printing presses which makes it easy to collect old ink and to clean the fountain roller to shorten the replacement time. Another object of the invention is to provide an inking arrangement for printing presses which obviates the need to clean the fountain member for the replacement of ink to shorten the replacement time. Another object of the invention to provide an inking arrangement for printing presses wherein the ink channel is easy to adjust in size. Still another object of the invention is to provide an inking arrangement for printing presses wherein the ink fountain is easy to adjust in width. To comply with these objects, the inking arrangement according to the invention is characterized by the features of claim 1. The present invention provides an inking arrangement for printing presses which comprises an ink fountain member having at least one fountain-forming face for forming an ink fountain, an ink fountain roller defining an ink channel together with the fountain member and having an outer peripheral surface to be inked through the channel, a plurality of rollers for supplying the ink applied to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller to a printing portion, and a cleaning tank disposed below the fountain member. The cleaning tank is provided with a cleaning blade at least alternatively shiftable to a cleaning position in which the cleaning blade is pressed against the peripheral surface of the fountain roller or to a stand-by position in which the cleaning blade is away from the fountain roller so that the ink applied to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller through the channel is scraped off by the cleaning blade in the cleaning position and collected in the cleaning tank. When a usual printing operation is to be conducted, the cleaning blade is changed over to the stand-by position away from the fountain roller. Accordingly, the ink applied from the ink fountain to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller through the ink channel is supplied to the printing surface as in the prior art. For the replacement of ink, the cleaning blade is changed over to the cleaning position and pressed against the peripheral surface of the fountain roller. In this state, the fountain roller is rotated. The rotation of the fountainer roller causes the old ink remaining in the fountain to come out through the ink channel onto the outer peripheral surface of the fountain roller as in the case of printing, whereas the ink is scraped off by the cleaning blade and collected in the cleaning tank. After the whole ink remaining in the fountain has been taken out by the fountain roller and collected by the cleaning blade into the cleaning tank, the fountain roller is held in rotation as it is for some time, whereby the ink remaining on the peripheral surface of the fountain roller is almost completely scraped off by the cleaning blade. When required, the portions of the fountain roller peripheral surface and the fountain member which were in contact with the ink are thereafter thoroughly cleaned manually, a new ink is placed into the fountain, and the next printing operation is stated. In this way, the ink remaining in the fountain is automatically collected into the cleaning tank by the cleaning blade in the cleaning position, and the ink remaining on the fountain roller peripheral surface scraped off almost completely by the blade for the replacement of the ink. The surfaces of the fountain roller and the fountain member only need to be cleaned by hand when so desired. Consequently, the present invention makes it easy to collect the ink and clean the arrangement to result in a shortened replacement time. The fountain member is positionable in a plurality of work positions by being rotated about an axis of rotation parallel to the fountain roller, and has a plurality of fountain-forming faces arranged along the periphery thereof in the direction of rotation and each having an ink channel-defining portion at one end thereof. Each of the fountain-forming faces forms the ink fountain with its channel-defining portion positioned close to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller when the fountain member is in the corresponding work position. In this case, for example, the fountain member is approximately in the form of a quadrangular prism and has four fountain-forming faces along its periphery. Further for example, the plurality of fountain-forming faces are different from one another in the distance from the axis of rotation of the fountain member to the channel-defining portion. Further for example, the positioning angle of the fountain member in each of the work positions is finely adjustable. When an ink of different kind is to be used to produce a different print, the fountain-forming face which forms the ink fountain can be replaced by rotating the fountain member and positioning the member in a different work position. For the replacement of ink, therefore, the fountain member is rotated to the different work position to form the ink fountain with a fresh fountain-forming face for use in the next printing operation, and the new ink is placed into the fountain, whereby the next printing operation can be initiated before cleaning the fountain-forming face used for the preceding printing operation. The fountain-forming face used for the preceding operation can be cleaned during the next printing operation. Accordingly, the time required for the replacement can be shortened by the length of time needed for cleaning the fountain-forming face. In the case where the fountain member is in the form of a quadrangular prism, a plurality of fountain-forming faces can be easily formed along the periphery of the fountain member which has a simple shape. In the case where the channel-defining portions of the fountain-forming faces are different from one another in the distance from the axis of rotation of the fountain member to the channel-forming portion, different work positions give different sizes to the ink channel. When the positioning angle of the fountain member in each work position is made finely adjustable, the size of the ink channel can be finely adjusted in each work position by finely adjusting the positioning angle. For example, the fountain roller and the fountain member are each at least partly made of a magnetic material, and the inking arrangement further comprises barrier plates each including a permanent magnet having a face for magnetically attracting the fountain roller in intimate contact with the peripheral surface thereof and a face for magnetically attracting the fountain member in intimate contact with the fountain-forming face forming the ink fountain. In this case, the barrier plates can be installed in place and removed easily, and are shiftable longitudinally of the fountain roller. The width of the ink fountain is variable as desired by shifting the barrier plates. The barrier plates merely attract the fountain roller thereto magnetically and therefore cause no trouble to the rotation of the fountain roller. Even when having a plurality of fountain-forming faces, the fountain member is rotatable with the barrier plates removed from between the fountain roller and the fountain member. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation partly broken away and showing the main portion of a printing press inking arrangement as a first embodiment of the invention; FIG. 2 is a side elevation partly broken away and corresponding to FIG. 1 to show the arrangement in a state different from that shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a side elevation partly broken away and corresponding to FIG. 1 to show the same in a state different from that shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a side elevation partly broken away and corresponding to FIG. 1 to show the same in a state different from that shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the main portion of FIG. 1; DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Several embodiments of the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 4 show the main portion of a printing press inking arrangement in four different states, respectively, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the same in the state of FIG. 1. In the following description of the first embodiment, the right-hand side of FIGS. 1 to 4 will be referred to as the "front," and the left-hand side thereof as the "rear." The terms "right" and "left" are used for the arrangement as it is seen from the front rearward. More specifically, the front side of the plane of FIGS. 1 to 4 will be referred to as "left," and the rear side thereof as "right." Further the direction of rotation will be expressed with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. An ink fountain roller 1 extends horizontally in the right-left direction. Disposed in front of and below this roller is the first of a plurality of ink distributing rollers, i.e., roller 2, in parallel to the roller 1. A vibrating roller 3 is disposed between these rollers 1 and 2 in parallel thereto. The fountain roller 1 and the distributing roller 2 are rotatably supported at their opposite ends by a press frame 4 and are rotated at a predetermined speed in synchronism with each other in the direction of arrows shown by an unillustrated suitable drive device. At least the outer peripheral portion of the fountain roller 1 is made of a magnetic material, and the peripheral surface thereof can be attracted by a permanent magnet. Although not shown in detail, the vibrating roller 3 is alternatively shiftable by a suitable change-over device to a position where the roller 3 is away from the distributting roller 2 and in contact with the fountain roller, or to a position where it is away from the fountain roller 1 and in contact with the distributing roller 2. Such an arrangement of vibrating roller 3 and distributing roller 2 is known and therefore will not be described in detail. An ink fountain member 5 made of magnetic material and extending horizontally in the tight-left direction is disposed in the rear of the fountain roller 1. The fountain member 5 is, for example, in the form of a quadrangular prism having a square cross section, and is provided with a support shaft portion 6 extending outward from each of its opposite ends and rotatably supported by the frame 4. The fountain member 5 is rotatable in a desired direction, for example, by hand and positionable in four work positions at an angular spacing of 90 deg and can be fixed in each work position by an unillustrated lock pin or like suitable means. The four laterals faces of the fountain member 5 along its periphery serve as fountain-forming faces 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d. The lateral edges at the clockwise ends of the fountain-forming faces 7a to 7d serve as ink channel-defining portions 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d corresponding to the respective fountain-forming faces 7a to 7d. These fountain-forming faces will be designated collectively by the reference numeral 7, and when there airses a need to make distinction, these faces will be referred to as the first fountain forming face 7a, second fountain-forming face 7b, third fountain-forming face 7c and fourth fountain-forming face 7d as arranged clockwise in order. Similarly, the ink channel-defining portions will be designated collectively by the reference numeral 8, and when there is a need for distinction, these portions will be referred to as the first ink channel-defining portion 8a, second ink channel-defining portion 8b, third ink channel-defining portion 8c and fourth ink channel-defining portion 8d in the order of clockwise arrangement. The illustrated end face of the fountain member 5 is marked with the numerals 1 to 4 in corresponding relation with the channel-defining portions 8 to represent the respective portions 8. Each fountain-forming face 7 form an ink fountain when the fountain member 5 is positioned in the corresponding work position, and the channel-defining portion 8 corresponding to the face 7 is positioned close to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller 1 to define an ink channel 9 together with the fountain roller 1. The work position in which the first fountain-forming face 7a forms the ink fountain as shown in FIG. 1 will be referred to as the first work position, and the work position in which the second fountain-forming face 7b forms the ink fountain as shown in FIG. 4 will be referred to as the second work position. Similarly, the work position in which the third fountain-forming face 7c forms the ink fountain will be referred to as the third work position, and the work position in which the fourth fountain-forming face 7d forms the ink fountain will be referred to as the fourth work position. The size of the ink channel 9 is dependent on the distance between the axis 1a of rotation of the fountain roller 1 and the axis 7a of rotation of the fountain member 5, the diameter of the fountain roller 1 and the distance from the axis 5a of rotation of the fountain member 5 to the ink channel-defining portion 8. In this case, at least two channel-forming portions 8 are different in the distance from the axis 7a of rotation of the fountain member 5 to the channel-defining portion 8. Different work positions are then made different in the size of the ink channel 9. A pair of right and left barrier plates 10 serving as the side plates of the ink fountain are removably fixed in a space between the fountain roller 1 and the fountain member 5. Each barrier plate 10 comprises a permanent magnet and approximately triangular in shape. The portions corresponding to the two sides of the triangle are formed with a face 10a in the form of a portion of cylinder for attracting the fountain roller thereto, and a planar face 10b for attracting the fountain member thereto, respectively. The barrier plates 10 are removed from the fountain roller 1 and the fountain member 5 when the fountain member 5 is to be rotated. During printing, the roller attracting face 10a is in intimate contact with the peripheral surface of the fountain roller 1, magnetically attracting the roller thereto, and the fountain member attracting face 10b is in intimate contact with the fountain-forming face 7 which is forming the ink fountain, magnetically attracting the member thereto, whereby the barrier plates 10 are fixed in position by these roller and member to constitute the side plates of the fountain. At this time, the barrier plates 10 hold the fountain roller 1 merely attracted thereto magnetically and are therefore unlikely to cause trouble to the rotation of the fountain roller 1. Further because the barrier plates 10 magnetically attract the fountainer roller 1 and the fountain member 5, the plates are easy to install and remove, and interchangeable for use. In conformity with the width of the printing surface, the barrier plates 10 are shiftable longitudinally of the roller and the member, whereby the width of the ink fountain is variable. The barrier plate 10 is integrally formed, for example, of a metal magnet, plastics magnet, rubber magnet or the like. Alternatively, the barrier plate 10 may comprise a main body made of a suitable material, and a permanent magnet fixed to the main body and providing the roller attracting face 10a and the member attracting face 10b. A cleaning tank 11 is disposed below the fountain member 5. The tank 11 has a cleaning blade 12 fixed to its front portion and projecting obliquely forwardly upward from the front end thereof. The blade 12 is made, for example, of a resilient steel plate having a thickness of about 0.5 mm. The width in the right-left direction of the tank 11 and the blade 12 is slightly larger than the length of the fountain roller 1. The tank 11 is supported so as to be movable forward and rearward by an unillustrated drive device. The tank 11 is alternatively movable forward to a cleaning position in which the blade 12 is in pressing contact with the peripheral surface of the fountain roller 1 as seen in FIG. 2, or rearward to a stand-by position in which the blade 12 is away from the fountain roller 1 as shown in FIG. 1. When the printing press according to the first embodiment operates for printing, the tank 11 is in the rearward stand-by position, the fountain member is fixed in one of the work position, and the barrier plates 10 are fixed in the space between the fountain roller 1 and the fountain member 5. An ink A is then placed into the ink fountain formed by the fountain member, fountain roller 1 and opposite barrier plates 10. FIG. 1 shows the fountain member 1 as fixed in the first work position. When the fountain roller 1 rotates in the state shown in FIG. 1, the ink A in the fountain comes out onto the peripheral surface of the fountain roller 1 through the ink channel 9. The ink applied to the surface of the roller 1 is transferred to the outer peripheral surface of the vibrating roller 3 while the roller 3 positioned in contact with the fountain roller 1 upon a change-over. The ink is then transferred from the vibrating roller 3 to the ink distributing roller 2 while the roller 3 is positioned in contact with the roller 2 upon a change-over. The ink is further supplied to the printing surface via the other ink distributing rollers. The amount of ink to be supplied to the printing surface is adjusted by controlling the period of time during which the vibrating roller 3 is in contact with the fountain roller 1. When the printing operation in the first work position is to be followed by another printing operation in the second work position, for example, the following replacement procedure is executed. When the printing operation in the first work position has been completed, the tank 11 is first shifted to the forward cleaning position to press the blade 12 against the surface of the fountain roller 1, and the fountain roller is rotated in this state as seen in FIG. 2. This causes the ink A remaining in the fountain to come out through the ink channel 9 onto the peripheral surface of the fountain roller 1 as in the printing operation, whereas the ink is scraped off by the blade 12 and collected in the tank 11. After the whole ink A remaining in the fountain has been taken out by the roller 1 and collected by the blade 12 into the tank 11, the fountain roller 1 is held in rotation as it is for some time, whereby the ink remaining on the peripheral surface of the fountain roller 1 is almost completely scraped off by the blade 12. As seen in FIG. 3, the tank 11 is thereafter shifted to the rearward stand-by position, the fountainer roller 1 is stopped, the opposite barrier plates 10 are removed, and when required, the peripheral surface of the fountain roller 1 is thoroughly cleaned. When the roller 1 has been cleaned, the fountain member 5 is rotated through 90 deg counterclockwise and fixed in the second work position as shown in FIG. 4, a pair of new barrier plates 10 are thereafter fixed in position, a new ink A is placed into the fountain and the next printing operation is started. At a suitable time after the completion of the preceding printing operation and before the next printing operation is initiated, the vibrating roller, ink distributing roller 2, etc. are cleaned in the same manner as in the prior art by inker cleaning. Further after the next printing operation has been started, the old ink collected in the tank 11 is discarded, and the barrier plates 10 and the first fountain-forming face 7a used for the preceding operation are cleaned. With the printing press described, the ink remaining in the fountain is automatically collected after the completion of the printing operation into the tank 11, and the ink remaining on the peripheral surface of the fountain roller 1 scraped off almost completely. Accordingly, the surface of the fountain roller 1 and the fountain-forming face 7a only need to be cleaned by hand as required. The present arrangement therefore ensures facilitated cleaning work and a shortened replacement time. Before the first fountain-forming face 7a used for the preceding operation is cleaned, the fountain member 5 is rotated to the second work position to start the next printing operation, and the fountain-forming face 7a can be cleaned during the next printing operation. Consequently, the replacement time can further be shortened by the length of time needed for cleaning the first face 7a. The fountain member 5, tank 11, blade 12, etc. are not limited to those of the above embodiment in construction but can be modified suitably. With the foregoing embodiment, the distances from the axis 5a of rotation of the fountain member 5 to at least two channel-defining portions 8 are made different to give different sizes to the ink channel 9 in different work positions. However, in the case where there is no need to alter the size of the ink channel 9 for different work positions, the distances from the axis 5a of the fountain member 5 to all the channel-defining portions 8 may be made equal. In addition to this modification, the positioning angle of the fountain member 5 in each work position may be made finely adjustable. The position of the channel-defining portion 8 can then be finely adjusted to finely adjust the size of the ink channel 9, by finely adjusting the positioning angle in each work position. Furthermore, the positioning angle of the fountain member 5 in each work position may be made finely adjustable while making at least two channel-defining portions 8 different in the distance from the axis 5a to the portion 8 as in the foregoing embodiment. For example, the fountain member 5 may be automatically rotated by a suitable drive device. The fountain member 5 may be, for example, approximately in the form of a triangular prism having an approximately regular triangular cross section to form three fountain-forming faces along its peripheray so as to be fixed in three work positions at an angular spacing of 120 deg. Furthermore, the fountain member may be in the form of a plate having two fountain-forming faces on opposite sides thereof so as to be fixed in two work postiions spaced apart by 180 deg. Although the tank 11 is movable forward and rearward in its entirety to shift the blade 12 upon a changeover according to the embodiment described, only a portion including the blade may be made shiftable. In the case of the foregoing embodiment, the fountain member 5 has such a simple configuration that a prismlike body is provided with support shaft portions 6 at its opposite ends integrally therewith, and are therefore easy to make with readily improved accuracy at a considerably reduced cost.

Claims: An inking arrangement for a printing press comprising an ink fountain member (5) having a fountain-forming face (7) for forming an ink fountain, an ink fountain roller (1) defining an ink channel (9) together with the fountain member and having an outer peripheral surface to be inked through the channel (9), a cleaning blade (12) alternatively shiftable to a cleaning position in which the cleaning blade is pressed against the peripheral surface of the fountain roller (1) or to a stand-by position in which the cleaning blade is away from the fountain roller, and a cleaning tank (11) disposed below the fountain member, the ink applied to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller (1) through the channel (9) being scraped off by the cleaning blade in the cleaning position and collected in the cleaning tank (11), the ink arrangement being characterized in that a plurality of rollers (2,3) is provided for supplying the ink applied to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller (1) to a printing portion, and that the fountain member (5) is positionable in a plurality of work positions by being rotated about an axis of rotation parallel to the fountain roller (1) and has a plurality of fountain-forming faces (7a,7b,7c,7d) arranged along the periphery thereof in the direction of rotation and each having an ink channel-defining portion (8a, 8b,8c,8d) at one end thereof, each of the fountain-forming faces (7a,7b,7c, 7d) forming the ink fountain with its channel-defining portion positioned close to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller when the fountain member is in the corresponding work position. An inking arrangement as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the fountain member (5) is approximately in the form of a quadrangular prism and has four fountain-forming faces (7a,7b,7c,7d) along its periphery. An inking arrangement as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the plurality of fountain-forming faces (7a,7b,7c,7d) are different from one another in the distance from the axis of rotation of the fountain member (5) to the channel-defining portion (8a,8b,8c,8d). An Inking arrangement as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the positioning angle of the fountain member (5) in each of the work positions is finely adjustable. An inking arrangement as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the fountain roller (1) and the fountain member (5) are each at least partly made of a magnetic material and which further comprises barrier plates (10) including a permanent magnet having a face for magnetically attracting the fountain roller (1) in intimate contact with the peripheral surface thereof and a face for magnetically attracting the fountain member (5) in intimate contact with the fountain-forming face forming the ink fountain. An inking arrangement as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the cleaning tank (11) is provided with the cleaning blade (12).

Inventors: IZUME MASAYUKI, IZUME, MASAYUKI
Applicants: MAR I PLANNING INC, I. MAR PLANNING INC.
Application year: 1994
Main classification: B41F1
IPC codes: B41F31, B41F35